The new system is very much under construction and the first rails have already been laid....

For details see

http://m-1rail.com/

(The cars that are being sold are from what some would call an urban revival attempt that failed -- and it only went a few blocks)

Bob H

The following was posted by Tim Davis of Detroit, on the NG-Traction group some time ago:


I recall the three of the Detroit cars are sitting fully restored, in a warehouse in Portland OR. They are up for sale at an artificially high price, due to non-payment of services to fix them up years ago.

Sad end to one of the first urban revival heritage trolley lines. It seems that many of these suffer from the whims of city politics and budget crushers. Portand, OR, Seattle WA, and Vancouver BC all have mothballed and semi-abandoned heritage trolley lines.
O. Anderson

Most of these lines were built as prods for redevelopment, not for more practical transportation purposes. Once the redevelopment is done, different administrations are in place, and what was once known to be important now seems a colorful but expensive irrelevancy. It probably doesn't help that the redevelopment the trolley lines encouraged was designed to be automobile friendly.........

Unless you are San Francisco, your trolley line must have the basis of need for service to morph into a modern and efficient light rail system to be immune from municipal vandalism. New Orleans is another exception that proves the rule, and perhaps Dallas although their love affair with historic cars is also evolving.

Shortsightedness seems a qualification for a civic career. I'm peripherally involved in a situation now in which what could be a very meaningful economic tourism benefit for one county is being relegated to second place behind a 12 car per month freight hauler since that's what the state DOT that owns the line is used to trying to find.

dave

It's easy for politicians and everybody else to support one-time capital expenses to build civic facilities such as museums, heritage railroads, etc.

It's much less attractive to support the annual operating costs once the thing is built.

When the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge was being built, a transportation museum was proposed for the old railroad shops at the Oakland end of the bridge. The museum has apparently vanished and morphed into alternatives which are less expensive to operate.

There was a reference to the Preserved North American Electric Railway Cars website. The Detroit cars are not listed there because they are from Europe (and the double decker from England). Even the standard gauge Melbourne trams in various locations in the States are not listed.

I can think of only one American museum that has both 3-foot gauge track and a 600-volt DC power supply, and I don't think these cars fall within the guidelines of their collections policy.

You can find good answers to much of this history of the British double decker here

http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk/news/?p=6379

Yes, the Seattle Waterfront Streetcar line was very much a victim of city politics. As the name implies, the streetcar traversed the heavily-tourist-trafficked waterfront, with stops across the street from all the main attractions. So during the spring and summer months, the streetcar benefitted from high ridership, and this lasted through til the end in 2005. I find it no coincidence that the line was closed shortly after the death of its originator, champion, and long-time city council member George Benson, and the city-owned land on which the carbarn stood sold to make room for the Seattle Art Museum's new sculpture park. A new carbarn was planned as part of a new multi-million dollar building (taking the place of a parking lot in Pioneer Square adjacent to the line), with the carbarn on the street level with retail and condo/apartment space above, but when the developer backed out/cancelled the project, the city did not make an effort to find another party to build the car barn, so the Melbourne trams that George went all the way to Australia to purchase sit forlorn and forgotten in a Metro warehouse/storage building in Sodo. A sad end to what had been a very successful heritage streetcar line...

From a former frequent rider and disappointed Seattle resident,

> Detroit

Keep in mind this: In Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, once host to a vast network of electric railroads, despite a massive national resurgence, NO new electric rail systems have been started in those states, with three exceptions:
- Detroit Citizen's Railway (these streetcars)
- Detroit People Mover
- M-1 Rail Project
See something in common? :)

[color=#FF0000]Keep in mind this: In Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, once host to a vast network of electric railroads, despite a massive national resurgence, NO new electric rail systems have been started in those states, with three exceptions:
- Detroit Citizen's Railway (these streetcars)
- Detroit People Mover
- M-1 Rail Project
See something in common? :)

Let's not forget St. Louis Metrolink, which is a bi-state organization between Missouri and Illinois. The East St. Louis, IL station was part of the original system in 1994. In 2001, an extension was opened to Belleville, IL, and in 2003 it was continued on to Scott AFB, IL.

"Detroit Citizens Railway" was the "trade name" lettered on the ex-Lisbon
closed cars. I forget what was on the ex-Lisbon open car and the Swiss
car. The British double deck car kept its original lettering.

The auction has supposedly run. I wonder who won them?

I'm told by a friend who watched they sold in the mid 30Ks, and all went to someplace in New York. Better information welcome as always.

dave

Not all went to New York, the British tram is going home:
http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk/news/?p=9647

Yet another urban heritage trolley operation looks to be on its last legs, as city officials redesign a future without the rails, but "will look at all future options." Which, pessimisticly, might mean the limbo option will be selected until granting periods expire and they can unload the stuff? Interestingly, they have followed the cue from other successful trolley killers, to separate the maintenance facility from the primary operational route.

I hope San Pedro's red cars have some kind of future...
http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-news/20150319/has-san-pedros-waterfront-red-car-reached-the-end-of-the-line

The San Pedro situation is similar to what happened to the Seattle Waterfront Trolley.